Smart Powering and Pairing System and Related Method

ABSTRACT

According to one disclosed embodiment, a smart powering and pairing system includes a power conversion unit (PCU) having a communication module, a power management module and a pairing module. The PCU can convert mains power into a form that can be used to power a plurality of electronic devices. In one embodiment, the PCU can transparently pair a connected electronic device to a group of subsequently connected electronic devices by accepting pairing information from the connected electronic device and using it to pair the subsequently connected devices. In another embodiment, the PCU can transparently pair a group of connected electronic devices by applying generated security data to all the connected devices. In another embodiment, a power conversion unit can use security data to un-pair connected electronic devices.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority from U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 61/336,845 filed on Jan. 26, 2010, which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is generally in the field of electronic devicesand systems. More particularly, the present invention is in the field ofdelivery of power to electronic devices and systems.

2. Background Art

The use of personal electronic devices permeates almost all aspects ofdaily life. Many such devices are kept in a mode of constant readinessfor use, and the cumulative effect of this mode and the ever-increasingnumber of devices can be a heavy burden on existing energy resources.Further, as more and more feature innovations are brought to market, thecomplexity in leveraging those features often surpasses the conveniencesthey offer.

One such feature is the act of pairing one electronic device to one ormore other electronic devices in order to combine features withoutrequiring that one device incorporate all desired features all the time.While the distributed functionality opens up a wide range of new,desired cooperative features, pairing devices to enable the cooperativefeatures can entail many individual manual steps that may require morethan just a general comfort level with new technology to complete.

Moreover, conventional power supplies for electronic devices aretypically unconfigurable and feature-poor, possibly just to reducemanufacturing cost, but perhaps also because general safety andliability concerns steer manufacturers towards designing their powersupplies to be physically differentiated from product to product so asto limit the risk of damage due to incompatible voltage and currentspecifications. Because each power supply is typically designed to serveonly a very limited market for a limited amount of time (e.g., the lifeof a single product), on the whole, there can be little incentive todesign efficiency or convenience features into each iteration of ageneric power supply. Additionally, in the case of portable electronicdevices, the lack of interchangeability frequently leads to consumershaving multiple collections of power supplies at, for example, home andwork, which can serve to compound the waste and inconvenience normallyindicative of conventional power supplies and powering systems.

Thus, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficiencies in theart by providing a powering system that can be readily adapted to powervarious electronic devices efficiently and accurately while increasingthe convenience of using those electronic devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a smart powering and pairing systemand related method, substantially as shown in and/or described inconnection with at least one of the figures, as set forth morecompletely in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a modular view of a smart powering and pairingsystem, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart illustrating steps taken to implement a methodfor pairing electronic devices, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a smart powering and pairing systemand related method. The following description contains specificinformation pertaining to the implementation of the present invention.One skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention may beimplemented in a manner different from that specifically discussed inthe present application. Moreover, some of the specific details of theinvention are not discussed in order not to obscure the invention.

The drawings in the present application and their accompanying detaileddescription are directed to merely exemplary embodiments of theinvention. To maintain brevity, other embodiments of the presentinvention are not specifically described in the present application andare not specifically illustrated by the present drawings. It should beunderstood that unless noted otherwise, like or corresponding elementsamong the figures may be indicated by like or corresponding referencenumerals. Moreover, the drawings and illustrations in the presentapplication are generally not to scale, and are not intended tocorrespond to actual relative dimensions.

Many modern electronic devices include the capability to communicatewith other devices in order to enhance the convenience of their use. Toreduce cross talk and/or to transfer information securely, electronicdevices can be “paired” or grouped in a way that makes theircommunications distinguishable from communications with other devices.While pairing has become an important way to combine functionality ofmultiple electronic devices, the initial step of pairing one device withanother can be complex, time consuming, and exceedingly inconvenient,especially as electronic devices themselves become more complex.

Conventional power delivery systems may not be suitable to solve thisinconvenience because they typically cannot be used universally. At theend of the life of a typical electronic device, its power deliverysystem is often simply thrown away because it cannot function with otherelectronic devices. Knowing this, manufactures typically build theirpower delivery systems as cheaply as possible, which can precludeincorporating any significant convenience features into their design.

FIG. 1 illustrates a modular view of one embodiment of the presentinvention that is capable of overcoming the drawbacks and deficienciesof the conventional art.

Smart power management system 100, in FIG. 1, includes power conversionunit (PCU) 110, electronic devices 120 and 130, and wired power conduit116. According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, PCU 110 can beconfigured to connect to a mains alternating current (AC) power linethrough a standard wall mounted electrical socket, using mains adapter111, and to provide power to electronic device 120 or 130 using wiredpower conduit 116.

As shown in FIG. 1, wired power conduit 116 can be connected to PCU 110through connector 117, which may be a fixed connection or a detachablemodular connection, such as through a Universal Serial Bus (USB)interface plug-in connector, for example. Wired power conduit 116 canconnect PCU 110 to electronic device 120 or 130 through modularconnector 118, which may be a mini-USB connector, for example, or anymodular connector suitable for providing an interface between wiredpower conduit 116 and an electronic device or system receiving power.Wired power conduit 116 can serve as a power transfer connection betweenPCU 110 and electronic device 120 or 130 and can be used to transferpower to operate either electronic device and/or charge their batteries(e.g., battery 122 of electronic device 120 or battery 132 of electronicdevice 130).

Although the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 represents PCU 110 connectedonly one electronic device at a time, e.g., electronic device 120 or130, that representation is provided merely as an example. Moregenerally, PCU 110 may be configured to provide power to a plurality ofvarious individual electronic devices and/or systems, each having theirown specific power requirements, by, for example, including multiplepower conduits connecting each device to PCU 110 substantiallysimultaneously. Alternatively, PCU 110 may be configured to provide avariable output to any of a plurality of electronic devices, but to doso in combination with a single electronic device or system at a time.In any implementation, however, PCU 110 is configured to support acommunication channel between itself and the electronic devices orsystems to which it is connected.

As shown in FIG. 1, according to the embodiment of smart powermanagement system 100, PCU 110 includes communication module 112, powermanagement module (PMM) 114, and pairing module 115. Communicationmodule 112 can be configured to send and receive information (e.g.,state information, power management parameters and/or pairinginformation) between PCU 110 and electronic devices 120 and 130, forexample, over communication channels established between PCU 110 andelectronic devices 120 and 130.

In embodiments such as that shown in FIG. 1, in which power istransferred from PCU 110 to electronic device 120 over a wiredconnection (e.g., wired power conduit 116) the wired connection may alsoprovide a communication channel for transfer of information. Indifferent embodiments, power may instead be transferred through awireless power conduit (not shown in FIG. 1) by inductive coupling, orresonant inductive coupling, for example, as known in the art. In thoseembodiments, communication module 112 can be configured to use awireless power conduit as a wireless communication channel.Communication module 112 can also be configured to support separatewireless communication channels to electronic devices 120 and 130, suchas through a Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE, WiFi, Near Field Communication(NFC), or other suitable wireless communication protocol, for example,either in addition or as an alternative to a communication channelformed over a power conduit.

PMM 114 may comprise, for example, a microcontroller having multipledigital and analog input/output ports coupled to communications module112 and to, for example, a programmable variable power supply, as knownin the art. PMM 114 can be configured to use information received fromcommunication module 112 to dynamically modify the output powercharacteristics (e.g., current and voltage levels) of power deliveredto, for example, electronic device 120 or 130 in order to efficientlyand accurately power electronic device 120 or 130 or charge respectivebatteries 122 or 132. PMM 114 can also be configured to detect a powerconnection with an electronic device by sensing, for example, a changein output impedance as measured across a power conduit. In one example,the combined efforts of communication module 112 and PMM 114 can be usedto enable PMM 114 to regulate the output power characteristics of powerdelivered to electronic device 120 according to information (e.g., powermanagement parameters) exchanged between, for example, electronic device120 and PCU 110 over a communication channel. Consequently, embodimentsof the present invention can be used to provide power to many differentelectronic devices, which can dramatically extend the useful lifetime ofPCU 110 while reducing a need for multiple conventional matched powersupplies.

Pairing module 115 may comprise, for example, a microcontroller havingmultiple digital and analog input/output ports coupled to communicationsmodule 112 and to, for example, a data storage device (e.g., a flashmemory device, or a bank of static random access memory) as known in theart. Pairing module 115 can be configured to use, for example, pairinginformation received from communication module 112 to pair electronicdevices (e.g., electronic devices 120 and 130) when they are placed incommunication with PCU 110. Once paired, electronic devices 120 and 130can be configured to communicate with each other securely, exclusively,and/or transparently (e.g., without additional help from a user or PCU110) as known in the art, for example. Such post-pairing configurationsmay be defined by instructions comprising a portion of the pairinginformation received by pairing module 115 and used to pair electronicdevices 120 and 130. Pairing module 115 can also be configured to storeall such pairing information and/or other transmitted information forsubsequent use when, for example, pairing other electronic devices.

Alternatively, or in addition to the above, paring module 115 may alsocomprise a physical authentication device, not shown in FIG. 1, that canbe used to enable or disable a pairing function of pairing module 115.For example, a physical authentication device may comprise a fingerprintscanner, or an electronic key fob detector for recognizing an electronickey fob exhibiting, for example, a specific electronic signature, asknown in the art. Pairing module 115 can be configured to temporarilyenable a pairing function after a successful authentication of pairingmodule 115, for example, such as when a scanned fingerprint matchesanother previously stored in pairing module 115, or while the presenceof a specific electronic key fob is detected by PCU 110.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, PCU 110 may also include various userinteraction devices, such as lighted status indicators, or physicalswitches, for example, that can be coupled with any modules comprisingPCU 110. A lighted status indicator may comprise, for example, a coloredlight emitting diode (LED) or strip of LEDs configured to indicate acommunication link status of communication module 114, for example, or afailed authentication of pairing module 115. A physical switch maycomprise, for example, a momentary push-button switch that can beconfigured to communicate, for example, to pairing module 115 that apairing function must be restarted with new pairing information becausean already paired device has been lost or compromised, for example.

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for pairing an electronicdevice to another according to an embodiment of the present invention.Certain details and features have been left out of flowchart 200 thatare apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art. For example, astep may consist of one or more substeps or may involve specializedequipment or materials, as known in the art. Steps 201 through 205indicated in flowchart 200 are sufficient to describe one embodiment ofthe present invention; however, other embodiments of the invention maymake use of steps different from those shown in flowchart 200.

Referring now to step 201 of the method embodied in FIG. 2, step 201 offlowchart 200 comprises detecting a power connection between a firstelectronic device and a PCU. The first electronic device may be, forexample, any electronic device able to communicate with a PCU and pairwith other electronic devices, and it may or may not have an internalpower storage device, such as a battery. The PCU can comprise acommunication module, a PMM and a pairing module, and can be configuredto draw power from a mains adapter, such as PCU 110 of FIG. 1 describedabove. As explained above, a PMM of the PCU may be configured to sense,for example, a change in output impedance over a power conduit anddetect a power connection with the PCU.

Continuing with step 202 in FIG. 2, step 202 of flowchart 200 comprisesestablishing a first communication link between the first electronicdevice and the PCU. The first communication link may be over a wired orwireless power conduit, a wired or wireless communication channel, orany combination of those, and can be established, for example, by acommunication module working in conjunction with a pairing module and/ora PMM.

Moving now to step 203 in FIG. 2, step 203 of flowchart 200 comprisesthe PCU receiving pairing information from the first electronic device.Upon a communication link being established, as described in step 202,either the PCU or the electronic device may initiate a transfer ofpairing information by, for example, transmitting an identitydescription used to distinguish devices to be paired from other devices,or by requesting a numerical authentication key or other security data.An identity description may comprise an electronic device's serialnumber, universal product code (UPC), network address, manufacturer,model number, or any other collection of numbers, symbols or text thatcan distinguish one or more electronic devices from other electronicdevices. Security data, on the other hand, may comprise any data thatcan distinguish a communication of one or more electronic devices fromother communications, for example, or data that can be used to securecommunications generally, as known in the art. Pairing informationtransfer may begin transparently (e.g., without any intervention by auser), for example. Further, any pairing information received by the PCUmay be stored within the pairing module of the PCU, as described above.

Continuing with step 204 in FIG. 2, step 204 of flowchart 200 comprisesestablishing a second communication link between a second electronicdevice and the PCU. The second communication link may be completelyindependent of the first communication link, and, like the firstcommunication link, may be over a wired or wireless power conduit, awired or wireless communication channel, or any combination of those.The second communication link can be established, for example, by acommunication module working in conjunction with a pairing module and/ora PMM, and can operate substantially simultaneously with the firstcommunication link.

Moving now to step 205 in FIG. 2, step 205 of flowchart 200 comprisesusing the pairing information to pair the second electronic device tothe first electronic device. Pairing may happen transparently, and mayor may not continue for an extended period of time. For example, if thepairing information transmitted to the PCU by the first electronicdevice comprises an identity description, as described above, the PCU'spairing module may request an identity description from the secondelectronic device and compare it to, for example, a stored version ofthe identity description transmitted by the first electronic device. Ifthe identity descriptions match, then the PCU can pair the devices by,for example, transmitting security data (e.g., an authentication key)generated by the PCU to both devices. Alternatively, even in instancesin which the identity descriptions do not match, the PCU can beconfigured to pair the devices if they meet certain predeterminedcriteria, once again, for example, by transmitting security data, suchas an authentication key, generated by the PCU to both devices. Aftersuch a transmission, the devices may communicate with each other usingsecurity data to negotiate, for example, a secure communicationprotocol, as known in the art. Such a secure communication protocol canbe used to transmit any information over any communication channelformed between the first and second electronic devices, including thosecommunication channels supporting the previously formed first and secondcommunication links with the PCU.

If, instead of an identity description, the pairing informationtransmitted by the first electronic device comprises security data(e.g., an already generated authentication key), then the PCU can beconfigured, for example, to simply re-transmit the security data to anyelectronic device it subsequently communicates with, such as the secondelectronic device, and thereby pair the second device to the firstelectronic device, as described above.

In an example implementation of the above method, a PCU can beconfigured to retain pairing information sent by a first electronicdevice, for example, only for a limited time or until some event occurs,as a security feature. For instance, a PCU may receive pairinginformation from a first electronic device comprising security data andan instruction that only the next device connected to the PCU is to bepaired. If a third electronic device is connected to the PCU after asecond electronic device has been paired, as described above, forexample, that third device may be powered by the PCU, but may not bepaired with the other electronic devices because the pairing informationprovided by the first electronic device has not been retained by thePCU. Under other circumstances, pairing information may instead comprisean instruction to pair all devices connected to a PCU at the same time,for example, or all devices connected to a PCU over a period of time.

In the event that the security of an electronic device paired by a PCUis compromised in some way, or if a user wishes to un-pair electronicdevices conveniently, a PCU may be configured instead to un-pairelectronic devices in much the same way as it may be used to pair them.For example, a first device may transmit paring information to a PCUthat comprises a pairing group's identity descriptions and aninstruction to un-pair all devices in that pairing group. Using thatinformation, a PCU can be configured to un-pair, transparently, anyelectronic devices in that pair group that are subsequently connected tothe PCU. Alternatively, as mentioned above, a PCU may comprise a userselectable switch that can be used to restart a pairing function of thePCU. Upon such a switch being selected, a PCU can be configured toun-pair all currently connected electronic devices from their pair groupor groups, for example, and re-pair all the devices as a single pairgroup using a newly generated authentication key, for example.

Although the method described by flowchart 200 characterizes thetransfer of pairing information as occurring through a first connectionof a first electronic device with the PCU and transfer of the pairinginformation from the first electronic device to the PCU, thendisconnection of the first electronic device from the PCU, followed byconnection of a second electronic device to the PCU and transfer of thepairing information from the PCU to the second electronic device, thatis but an example arrangement. In another embodiment, a first electronicdevice can be connected to a PCU having existing connections, e.g.,wired, wireless, or both wired and wireless, to one or more otherelectronic devices. In that embodiment, transfer of pairing informationfrom the first electronic device to the PCU could be followed bysubstantially immediate transfer of the pairing information to one ormore of the other connected devices, without additional interveningdisconnect or connect operations.

Therefore, by providing a smart powering and pairing system having theability to communicate with and power a variety of connected electronicdevices, and also having the ability to pair those devicestransparently, the present inventive concepts provide a powering systemthat can significantly increase the convenience of using thoseelectronic devices. Additionally, by providing a system that cantransparently facilitate secure transfer of information betweenconnected electronic devices over, for example, mixed communicationchannels (i.e., one a wired communication channel formed over a wiredpower conduit and another formed over a wireless communication channelseparate from a power conduit, for example), the present inventiveconcepts compound the above increase in convenience while retainingimportant communication security features.

From the above description of the invention it is manifest that varioustechniques can be used for implementing the concepts of the presentinvention without departing from its scope. Moreover, while theinvention has been described with specific reference to certainembodiments, a person of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate thatchanges can be made in form and detail without departing from the spiritand the scope of the invention. Thus, the described embodiments are tobe considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Itshould also be understood that the invention is not limited to theparticular embodiments described herein but is capable of manyrearrangements, modifications, and substitutions without departing fromthe scope of the invention.

1. A smart powering and pairing system comprising: a power conversionunit (PCU) configured to power a plurality of electronic devices; thePCU being further configured to communicate with and pair at least twoof the plurality of electronic devices.
 2. The smart powering andpairing system of claim 1, wherein the PCU is configured to receive apower management parameter from at least one of the plurality ofelectronic devices, the power management parameter being used toregulate an output power characteristic of a power provided to the atleast one of the plurality of electronic devices.
 3. The smart poweringand pairing system of claim 1, wherein the PCU is further configured topair the at least two of the plurality of electronic devices so thatthey communicate through the PCU using a secure communication protocol.4. The smart powering and pairing system of claim 1, wherein the PCU isconfigured to receive a pairing information from one of the at least twoof the plurality of electronic devices.
 5. The smart powering andpairing system of claim 4, wherein the PCU is configured to retain thepairing information for a period of time.
 6. The smart powering andpairing system of claim 4, wherein the PCU is configured to retain thepairing information until an event occurs.
 7. The smart powering andpairing system of claim 4, wherein the pairing information comprises anidentity description.
 8. The smart powering and pairing system of claim4, wherein the pairing information comprises a security data.
 9. A powerconversion unit (PCU) for use in a smart powering and pairing system,the PCU comprising: a communication module; a power management module(PMM); a pairing module; the communication module and the PMM beingconfigured to communicate with and power a plurality of electronicdevices; the communication module and the pairing module beingconfigured to communicate with and pair at least two of the plurality ofelectronic devices.
 10. The PCU of claim 9, wherein the PMM isconfigured to power at least one of the plurality of electronic devicesusing a wired power conduit.
 11. The PCU of claim 9, wherein the PMM isconfigured to power at least one of the plurality of electronic devicesusing a wireless power conduit.
 12. The PCU of claim 9, wherein thecommunication module is configured to communicate with at least one ofthe plurality of electronic devices over a communication channel formedover a power conduit.
 13. The PCU of claim 9, wherein the communicationmodule is configured to communicate with at least one of the pluralityof electronic devices over a wireless communication channel formedseparate from a power conduit.
 14. The PCU of claim 9, wherein thepairing module includes a physical authentication device used to enablethe pairing module.
 15. The PCU of claim 14, wherein the physicalauthentication device is a fingerprint reader.
 16. The PCU of claim 14,wherein the physical authentication device is an electronic key fobdetector.
 17. A method for use by a power conversion unit (PCU) forpairing a first electronic device with a second electronic device, thePCU having a controller configured to perform the method comprising:detecting a power connection between the first electronic device and thePCU; establishing a first communication link between the firstelectronic device and the PCU; receiving pairing information from thefirst electronic device by the PCU; establishing a second communicationlink between the second electronic device and the PCU; using the pairinginformation to pair the second electronic device to the first electronicdevice.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the pairing informationcomprises an identity description, the PCU being configured to use theidentity description to distinguish the second electronic device from aplurality of other electronic devices.
 19. The method of claim 17,wherein the pairing information comprises a security data, the PCU beingconfigured to use the security data to pair the second electronic deviceto the first electronic device.
 20. The method of claim 17, furthercomprising: receiving an instruction to un-pair the first and secondelectronic devices from one another; un-pairing the first electronicdevice and the second electronic device.